Wish
by Project 0506
Summary: Each time Doumeki makes a wish he has to pay a little more, yet Yuuko knows she can't stop him. He will keep wishing, even if it costs his soul. Because it is hitsuzen that Watanuki lives.


Disclaimer: xxxHolic is Clamp. All Clamp and nothing but Clamp. Project 0506 has no right to call it her own…sniff! Sob!

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What is and is not right for a person, what that person believes will be their happiness, cannot be changed by anyone but that person. And Yuuko knew better than to interfere.

When he made his first wish, she kept silent.

_You can hear me can't you?_

_I might be able to._

_Then do something!_

_I sell wishes. If I interfere I'll have to charge a price._

_I can't save him on my own._

_To save a life will cost much._

_My arm. You want the thing most valuable to me don't you? Take my right hand. Just don't let him fall!_

She granted his wish.

Every time he aims his bow the muscles in his right arm spasm, and it takes all his self control not to cry out.

When he made his second wish Yuuko started to worry.

_He is not physically beneath the hydrangea so you won't find him by digging._

_What do I do then._

_Think about it. Think on everything I told you before you came here. Try to remember. You will find your answer._

_Tell me._

_The cost—_

_I'll pay it._

_This is the second time you've made the same wish. The first cost a piece of your body. Now it will cost a piece of your heart._

_My mother had a pendant she loved very much. She gave it to me before she died. It was the last thing she touched. Will that be enough?_

_Hold on to the ribbon. If Watanuki still has it he should realize…_

She granted his wish, but held his eyes longer than necessary. She needed him to understand what it was he had started.

Every night he dreams of his mother crying, unable to reach him.

When he made his third wish, Yuuko felt her heart clench in her chest.

_Yuuko-san—_

_No._

_He's dying._

_He made his own choice to go to her._

_He's not thinking clearly._

_No._

_I am willing to pay._

_Next is a part of your mind._

_I know._

_I will grant your wish. But do not let it happen a fourth time; never forget the connection between 'shi' and death. You will need to dispel the woman's ghost, to destroy her completely…_

She granted his wish. She tried to explain things, to warn Watanuki, but it failed. And she knew all along that it would. Hitsuzen cannot be altered.

Every day he is tormented by the pain, the hate in he saw in Watanuki's eyes.

When he makes his fourth wish, Yuuko tries one last time to dissuade him.

_It's my soul this time, isn't it?_

_I will not grant your wish._

_You don't have a choice. It is hitsuzen that he live._

_You can—_

_I can't do this on my own._

_Take this seed. It is a parasitic youkai, so you will need to plant this in the host's chest._

She grants his wish.

The host is a small boy, and the purifying plant tears both youkai and spirit from the eight year old body. The police say the cause of death was an asthma attack. Doumeki knows that he murdered him. Voices only he can hear accuse him; a child only he can see follows him silently, dead eyes begging to be rescued. Doumeki always keeps a large bottle filled with assorted and powerful medicines, just in case the guilt is too much to live with. He opens the bottle and puts the first, a small red capsule, in his mouth. Before he can swallow there is a loud, obnoxious banging on the temple's front door.

When he finds Watanuki on his doorstep with a mountain of suitcases and a scowl on his face, Doumeki is more than slightly surprised. Watanuki's landlords are moving to Okinawa, and he has nowhere else to live. It's payback for a year of bento. He commandeers the guestroom and unpacks all his things. The upside for Doumeki is at least now dinner is just as good as lunch is.

While they fight over meat on hotpot night, Doumeki realizes that he doesn't hear the voices anymore, and the little boy is gone. He let's his chopsticks slip, and Watanuki wins the last slice of beef.

In her shop, Yuuko fingers trace the outlines of a family scrap book, an unforeseen payment from Watanuki for what's left of Doumeki's sanity.

Hitsuzen, she decides, is a very intriguing thing. Apparently, 'Inevitable' may not apply to Watanuki Kimihiro.

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Just a note: shi is 4 in Japanese. It's considered unlucky because it sounds almost like shin, death.


End file.
